Passions of War Sequel to: Love thy Enemy
by alphaLMN
Summary: This is the sequel to my previous story. Hermione and Draco have been seperate by the beginning of The War. i won't say much because i don't want to spoil anything, but be warned, this is a war setting and there will be death. rated m for a reason!
1. Chapter 1

i'm putting this only one time but it applies to all chapters of this story. i do not own any of the characters or settings that you may recognize from the books or movies. they are the sole property of J.K. Rowling. i just use them for entertainment.

**CHAPTER ONE**

The darkness faded as their surroundings came into focus. They were in an open clearing, surrounded by trees. Hermione dropped Ron and Harry's hands. Her hands went to the strap around her neck. "Put up the charms and spells I've showed you." She instructed as she pulled the small bag from her neck.

Harry and Ron set about the charms. Hermione opened her bag and began searching through it. She pulled out the tent they had used at the Quidditch World Cup. "Here Ron." she said, handing it to him. "Put this up. You know how, I'm sure. I'll help Harry finish the spells."

They finished the spells and charms and sat around the table twenty minutes later. Hermione looked at her two best friends.

"Well, this is It guys." Harry said.

"Yeah," Ron agreed. He turned to Hermione. "Mione, how did you know to have the tent with you tonight?"

She looked at him and sighed. "I didn't know Ron. I've had this bag with me everywhere I went for the last three months. And it's not just the tent. I have everything I thought we might need." She held up the small bag for them to see.

"That's brilliant Hermione!" Harry told her.

"Yeah," She smiled, "Actually, it wasn't my idea at all. It was…" Her voice trailed away as she remembered who's idea it had been.

"What's wrong Hermione?" Harry stared at her. She stared at the bag in her hands. Tears filled her eyes but she blinked them away.

"It's nothing Harry." She forced a smile. "We can't stay in one place for too long." She said then looked to Harry. "I'm sorry Harry, but I can't tell you where we are. I don't think it would be very safe since your mind is still connected to his."

He nodded. "I understand. So what do we do now?"

"Now we settle in. we should be safe here for a few days. We'll make plans about what we need to do." She opened the bag again. From it, she pulled out two cans of stew, followed by a change of clothes and a pair of shoes for each of them. "Here, change your clothes. After we change, I'll start cooking and we can make plans while we eat."

Ron held up the clothes he was given. "How did you get these?"

Hermione didn't speak or look at them at first. "They were Draco's clothes." she said in a quiet voice. "Just go change."

Neither boy made an attempt to move. "Hermione," Harry said. "What the hell has been going on between you and Malfoy?"

She looked up helplessly, her gaze shifting from one boy to the other. "Guys, there's something I've been keeping a secret from you." She took a deep breath. "I was dating Draco."

"What?" Ron shouted as he jumped to his feet. "Since when?"

"Since the first week of school… but we broke up on Christmas." she added quickly.

"Is that why he helped us escape? Is that why he saved you? And threatened Ron and I?" Harry asked. She nodded.

"Why would he risk his own life though?" Ron asked skeptically.

Hermione looked at Harry pleadingly. "Ron, just drop it." Harry told him, adding when he looked ready to object, "Not now."

Ron was taken aback. But only for a moment. "Harry, how can you be okay with this? This is Malfoy. He's a Slytherin. He's a Death Eater!"

"No he isn't Ronald!" Hermione shouted, jumping to stand in front of him.

"Yeah right. Probably shows off his Dark Mark to anyone who will look!"

"He doesn't have the Mark! I've seen his arms plenty enough to know that it isn't there!" Ron watched in shock as Hermione grabbed her bag and stormed off.


	2. Chapter 2

Hermione sat on her bed, her gown pooled around her. She clutched the bag to her chest, forcing back the tears. _Where was Draco now?_ Oh why hadn't she just made him come with her?

"Hermione? Can I come in?" Harry called from the other room.

She sat up straighter. "Yes. Come in, Harry."

Harry came in and sat on the bed with her. "Hermione…" he began, looking at her. He waited for her to look up before he continued. When she raised her head to look at him, he saw the answer to his unspoken question. "You really care about the little ferret, don't you?"

"Harry… I love him."

She heard him sigh heavily. "How did this happen, Mione?"

"I don't know." She told him, shaking her head. "I really don't know. Oh Harry, what am I going to do?"

"I don't know. But we'll figure something out. We always do. This is just how it has to be for now though."

"But it's not fair. I know it has to be this way, but why couldn't he have at least come with us?"

"Hermione, you ask that question, but you already know why. He has to do this on his own. He wouldn't want help from me and Ron." Harry stood up and offered her his hand. "Come on, dance with me, Mione. Neither of us is with the person we really want to be with tonight. At least we can enjoy some of it."

She smiled weakly. "Okay Harry." She placed her hand in his and allowed him to pull her to her feet. She hummed quietly and they danced. Harry was a good dancer, though not as good as Draco. They laughed and talked as they moved. Harry swept her across the floor easily and spun her in a circle.

The sudden movement made her stop. Her hand went to her mouth. "I think I'm going to be sick." Harry handed her a small garbage can just as she began to heave. Harry held her hair until she finished. He caught her as she collapsed to the floor and helped her sit down.

"Oh, I'm sorry Harry." she said, setting aside the garbage can. "All this stress has been getting to me. I've been so busy and nothing seems to be going right. And I've barely eaten a thing all day." "It's alright Hermione. Do you feel any better now?" Hermione nodded and Harry stood. "Okay, then let's get you up so that you can get changed." He took her hands and pulled her to her feet again. Then he left her to change.

Hermione came out fifteen minutes later dressed in a pair of blue jeans and a t-shirt. Her hair was pulled back into a loose knot. She walked into the kitchen and opened the stew, putting it on the stove to heat. When it was finished, she sat at the table with her bowl, Ron and Harry sat with theirs across from her.

"Okay, we need to know what we are going to do. Harry, how many more Horcruxes do we need to find?" Hermione asked.

Harry looked up from his bowl. "We only have two left. Dumbledore and I have been pretty busy. One of the two is Nagini, his pet snake. And she's always with him. So that only leaves the other. We don't know what it is yet though."

"Well, do you know where it is at least?" Ron asked, hopefully.

Harry nodded. "Dumbledore thinks it's at Hogwarts."

This brought up both their heads. "What?" Ron exclaimed, a little too loudly. "We were just at Hogwarts. Have been for the last four bloody months! Why didn't you tell us?"

"As I said, Ron. We don't know what it is. How can we find something if we don't know what we are looking for?" Harry countered.

"I'm sorry Harry, but I have to side with Ronald on this one. You should have told us. If you did, then you would have learned that I've been giving this a lot of thought. And I think I know what we are looking for." She opened her bag and pulled out her copy of _Hogwarts: A History. Opening it, she pointed to a picture. "That's it. The lost diadem of Ravenclaw. We've already had Horcruxes belonging to the other three founders. This is what we need to find."_

_Harry pulled the book closer to examine it. "I've seen this before." He stated at last. "Last year. It was in the Room of Requirement. I saw it when I had to hide that potions book."_

"_Great. Perfect." Ron said, throwing his hands up. "Hogwarts is surrounded by Death Eaters. How the bloody hell are we supposed to get back in there now?"_

"_Relax Ronald." Hermione told him. "We knew this wasn't going to be easy."_


	3. Chapter 3

"Hey guys," Ron shouted from the sitting room, "Come in here!"

Harry and Hermione rushed into the other room. "What is it?" Hermione asked worriedly, looking around.

"Come here. Listen to what I found." They walked to the table and say a radio sitting next to Ron.

'_This is Potter Watch. It's been one week since the attack at Hogwarts. My name is Eagle Eye. Here with me today is Mooney. We will be keeping you up to date on all things relating to this war. Mooney, what can you tell our fellow Potter Supporters?'_

"That's Fred!" Ron told them.

'_Well, Eagle Eye. First of all, I would like to say that the Wizarding World has suffered greatly at the loss of Albus Dumbledore.' _Mooney said. They all exchanged glances.

"No," Hermione choked. "It can't be true."

'_We would also like to thank large group of Hogwarts students who were part of a secret group known as Dumbledore's Army. According to an inside source, these students were all trained by Harry Potter and his friends to fight. These students risked their lives, some losing theirs, to save their fellow students. We here at Potter Watch would like to send our deepest regrets to the families of these students: Andrew Switter, Cassandra Lowe, Daniel Jones, Henry James, Isabelle Anderson, Kasey Smith, Lavender Brown, Oliver Tracy, Seamus Finnigan, and Violet Stevens. These brave students gave their lived to help the younger students to safety. We ask you for a moment of silence to remember and to honor these wonderful souls.'_

The trio sat in a stunned silence. Friends they had laughed and joked with only a week ago were now dead. And so many more deaths were to follow unless they moved quickly.

'_It was a sad day indeed' _Eagle Eye said._ 'To lose so many lives, and so young as well, is a tragedy. But it will not be in vain. These brave people made it possible for Harry to get away. We have no idea as to his whereabouts at this time, but wherever he is, he has our support.'_

'_That's right Eagle Eye.'_ Mooney told him._ 'Lives are being risked every day. Keep safe. Next week's password will be Dumbledore. Until then, be careful, stay alert and take care of your fellow Potter Supporters.'_

_The station died into static. Harry looked to Ron. "How did you find that?"_

_He shrugged. "I sat here tapping the radio with my wand. I was mumbling to myself and when I said your name, Harry, that came on."_

"_It's brilliant." Harry said._

"_Yes," Hermione agreed. "But I can't believe that Dumbledore and so many of our friends are dead. How can Dumbledore be dead?" she exclaimed, letting out a choked cry. Then she nearly ran from the room. Harry and Ron followed her. they found her doubled over outside, vomiting._

_Ron nudged Harry in the side. Harry looked to him and nodded before going back inside. "Hermione?" Ron said once Harry was inside. "Are you alright?"_

_Hermione stood up a few minutes later. She turned to him and nodded. "Yes, I'm fine Ron. I just got a bit upset about all the death. It's all my fault. I should have taught them more. We should have met more than twice a week. We could have learned more. Then they wouldn't be dead."_

_Ron moved to her, wrapping her in his arms. "Come on now, Mione. You can't believe that! There's no way we could have prevented this. You taught them everything you could. We had no idea about the attack."_

"_But we left them there!" she cried, her chest heaving. "We left them there and now they are dead!"_

"_Hermione, we had to get out. They knew what they were getting into when they joined us. They were ready to make the sacrifice. It's not your fault." Ron told her, his hand rubbing her back in an attempt to sooth her._

_She turned into him, resting her head on his shoulder. "Ron, this is so horrible. What are we going to do?"_

"_We're going to win Hermione." He told her as she cried on his shoulder. His arms tightened around her. "We're going to win."_


	4. Chapter 4

"Harry, Ron. I think we should move now. It's not safe to stay here for too long. if they're looking, it's only a matter of time till they find us unless we move."

"Alright Hermione." Harry agreed. "We'll leave tomorrow morning. So we should get plenty of sleep tonight. Once we relocate, we'll start making plans to fight. I want this war over with as soon as possible. I don't want to lose any more lives."

"Okay. Ron, when will that station be on again?"

Ron looked up. "It should be on tomorrow night."

Harry stood up. "Well, I'm going to head off to bed. I'll see you guys in the morning. Goodnight."

They said their goodnights and were left alone. "Ron" Hermione began. "I wanted to thank you. For the other night, I mean." She said as she sat beside him.

"It was nothing Hermione." He turned to face her. "I'm here if you need me. I always will be." He leaned towards her slowly and his lips brushed hers.

She raised her hand to his chest and gently pushed him away. "Ron, no. Please don't."

He stopped. "It's him, isn't it? Malfoy?"

She looked away. "Yes."

"Why, Hermione? Why him?"

"I don't know why Ron. he's different now. He's not the same guy we've known since we started Hogwarts.

"Hermione, I know that he risked him life to save you, and believe me, I'm glad he did. But you know as well as I do that you'll probably never see him again. We might not even live through this war."

"I know Ron. But I can't stop hoping. I love him."

"Alright Hermione." Ron sighed. "But I'm always here if you need me."

She smiled. "Thanks Ron."

Hermione lay on her bed thinking. She thought about everything that had happened this year. Everything that led to this point. She thought of her relationship with Draco. As she lay there, she remembered the small box that she put in her bag. Grabbing her bag, she began searching for it. The box was sparkling red and the lid was topped with a green ribbon.

'Merry Christmas. Love Draco' was written on the card taped to the top of the box. She lifted the lid to see a beautiful ring. It was a large emerald surrounded by several much smaller rubies. The had looked silver but she knew it was actually white gold. She stared at the beautifully made ring for a long time before taking it out.

As she turned the ring in her fingers, looking at it from every angle, her fingers ran over a small inscription. Her held the ring carefully. She looked intently at the words engraved into the ring and her breath caught in her throat. 'Marry me?'

Hermione slumped to the bed. _Oh god. Draco was going to ask her to marry him._ She stared down at the ring. It was so beautiful, so breathe-taking.

Tears stung her eyes. She slipped the ring onto her finger. It felt right to wear his ring. She knew then that she had to survive this war. She had to make it back to Draco.

She fell asleep peacefully that night, Draco's ring still on her finger.

In her dream, she was back with Draco again. They were together and the war was finally over. Voldemort was dead. Death Eaters were either dead or in Azkaban.

As she looked into Draco's eyes, she felt as if she would burst from happiness. But there was something different. Something about her had changed. She looked at him, then at herself. Then she realized what it was.

She awoke with a start.

_It couldn't be._


	5. Chapter 5

It was five in the morning when Hermione jolted awake. She noticed that the ring was still on her finger almost instantly. Looking down at it, she smiled then she remembered why she woke up. The smile faded.

Her bag was beside her bed. She reached over for it. The book Ron gave her for Christmas was inside. She pulled the book out for a spell she faintly remembered seeing. It was a simple spell as far as she could remember.

She pointed her wand at her stomach and muttered the incantation from the book. She didn't want to wake Harry or Ron so she spoke quietly. She watched as her stomach began to give off a glowing aura. Her wand fell from her hand and she sank to her knees on the floor. Her hand touched her stomach gently.

Hermione felt the tears in her eyes. She blindly picked up her wand and pointed it to her stomach again. She muttered the spell and watched as her stomach glowed again. She did it again and her stomach glowed once more.

She couldn't believe it. She had Draco's child inside her. She had to have for at least two months. _This can't be happening. Not now. She had to fight. She couldn't leave Harry and Ron now. Not when they needed her most._

_And she knew them They would try to make her leave. Send her somewhere safe. They wouldn't let her fight beside them. She couldn't let that happen. She had to fight. Had to find Draco. And there was only one way for that to happen._

_They couldn't know._

_She took off the ring and put it on the chain with her D.A. charm. As she settled it back in place around her neck, she smiled sadly at her decision. She would not be able to share her news with anyone. Of course, Ron would probably be furious anyhow. Hermione searched the room, gathering anything she needed to pack into her bag._

_Then she went into the kitchen and began preparing breakfast. As breakfast cooked, she packed away anything she needed from the kitchen. She was putting their breakfast on their plates when Harry and Ron walked into the kitchen._

"_Morning 'Mione." they said together._

"_Good morning," she replied, smiling cheerfully. "I'm all packed up. So once you guys have finished breakfast, you can go pack up what you need. then we can get going."_

_It took an hour for them to eat and pack. Ron and Harry had little to bring with them, but they had to take down the tent and remove the spells they had placed around their camp site. Ron had taken down the tent and Harry helped Hermione to remove the spells. Once they had finished, they stored the tent and looked to one another._

"_Are you guys ready?" Hermione asked at last._

_They nodded. "Let's go." Harry said._

_Hermione tucked her bag in her shirt and held out her hand. As they took hold of one another, Hermione pulled out her wand. With a twist of her wrist, she closed her eyes and imagined her destination. Darkness folded in around them as they apparated away._

_They landed on a patch of frozen ground. There was a light dusting of snow covering it. The temperature however, wasn't too cold._

_Once they got their balance, their hands fell away. Hermione pulled her bag free. She pulled out the tent and handed it to Ron, who stood waiting. As Ro pitched the tent, Harry and Hermione set up the protection spells once more. Once they had finished, they retreated inside to sit around the kitchen table._

"_Alright," Harry began, "So what do we do now?"_

"_Well, we have to get back into Hogwarts." Ron stated. "But it's probably crawling with Death Eaters."_

"_There are the secret passages into Hogwarts from Hogsmeade. We could use those." Hermione told them._

_They agreed and spent the next hour discussing possible passages to use._


	6. Chapter 6

"_Hey" Ron called out. "I found the station on the radio! Get in here. Hurry."_

_Harry and Hermione came into the room and sat around the table. They looked at each other before turning their attentions to the radio on the table._

'_Hi. Welcome back to Potter Watch. I'm Eagle Eye, back again tonight. With me this evening is Bunny. And we have plenty to talk about tonight, don't we Bunny?'_ Fred's voice was clear over the radio.

'_That's right.' _Bunny agreed. _We have recently learned that He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named has issued a reward for any of Harry Potter's followers. So all of you fellow Potter Supporters had best be very careful. Also a warning to all who can hear. You-Know-Who's name has been officially tabooed. So don't speak his name.'_

'_Speaking his name will undo any protection spells within a five mile radius of you.' _Fred warned. _'On a much brighter note, we have been receiving updates from our friends around the country. There have been rumors of wizard smuggling. It has come to our attention that we have a way out for young witches and wizards. It seems that there is a wizard who it moving witches and wizards out of the country under the pretense of being muggle house cleaners. The person behind his operation is unknown at the moment, but we have been assured by many that it is a completely save mode of escape. We encourage you to do this. You may have to be without magic for the duration of the war, but you will be safe.'_

'_This is a miraculous gift to the wizarding world. Do not let it go to waste. Get yourself to safety now.'_

'_Now,'_ Fred began, _'It is time for a moment that we all wish we did not need. There have been more deaths reported. Though our list this week is not so big, it is a list none the less. We would like to take this time to share it with you. The deaths are as followed: Darrick Poogle, Douglas Diggory, John Sauman, Robert Mooreson. These four people lost their lives in the hunt for Potter followers. We were informed by survivor, Dean Thomas, that he was traveling with Douglas Diggory and Darrick Poogle.'_

Bunny came on then. _'Dean told us how he had managed to escape and now we would like to share his experience with you. They were surrounded by four hunters. Death Eaters, all four of them. There was the initial attack. One Death Eater used the _Aveda Kadavra _to kill Darrick Poogle. He and Mr. Diggory were alerted instantly. The managed to kill one Death Eater instantly. But the others sent spells after them rapidly. Dr. Diggory took down a Death Eater who was aiming at Dean. Just as his spell hit, however, another Death Eater hit him with _Aveda Kadavra_, giving him no time t counter. Dean apparated away from the fight but not before he managed one final shot. A shot that killed yet another of the Death Eaters.' _Bunny ended her story with a great sigh,

'_Yes, you heard us right.'_ Fred chimed in. _'Three Death Eaters have been killed. It is a small victory in light of the death that has been brought to two of our own, but it is a victory at least. We would also like to report that Mr. Thomas is now safe. He has asked us to pass to you a message though. The last thing he said to us before leaving. He said to us, tell this to your listeners. "I will be back to fight again. Hermione Granger taught us well in the D.A. Everyone says that she is the brightest witch of our time and I couldn't agree more. I wouldn't have survived that night if it weren't for her. And I intend to do her proud by fighting this war and taking down as many Death Eaters as I can." So if you're listening to us Hermione, thank you for giving us one hell of a fighter.'_

Harry and Ron smiled at her.

'_That's it for this week. We will be back in a week. The next password will be "Hermione". That's it from us here at Potter Watch. We'll see you next time.'_

'_Keep safe. And help each other.' They finished in unison. The station turned to static._

_They sat in silence for a moment. Then Ron turned off the radio. "Wow. They got Mr. Diggory. I can't believe it. But at least they took down three of the Death Eaters."_

"_Yeah." Harry agreed. "But I don't like this. We need to fight. We need to end this."_

"_Harry, I think we should learn a few more spells. There's no way we can win on what we know now. If we fight now, we'll never be able to survive."_

"_We don't have time for that Hermione! Our friends are dying." Harry told her._

"_And even more will follow if you die!" She cried out. "If you die, we all die. Can you live with that? Knowing that you're going to run out there unprepared and everyone will die. And all because you don't want to take the time t learn a few more spells?"_

_There was silence following her outburst. "She's right, Harry." Ron said, coming to her aide. "We can't win like this. I mean, the Death Eaters all think that the only spell you know is 'Expelliarmus'. It's what you always use. It's your signature."_

"_Fine." Harry surrendered grudgingly. "You win Hermione. We'll put off fighting. But only for two months. Three at the very most. You can teach us what you want. But then we fight. No exceptions."_


	7. Chapter 7

The two months flew by quickly. Hermione taught them new spells. They had perfected ten spells by the end of the second month, only three were defensive spells. Now, they sat around the table, ready to listen to this week's Potter Watch. As they sat patiently, Ron tuned in the station for them.

'_Welcome back to Potter Watch!'_ It was Mooney who spoke, or Lupin to his friends. _'Eagle Eye isn't with us tonight, but do not be alarmed. He has left us temporarily to join a group of our own in the Death Eater hunt. But he did promise to return to us soon, so fear not. In his place today, we are joined by our old friend, Muggle Lover.'_

"It's dad!" Ron exclaimed.

'_Hey Mooney. And welcome to our fellow Potter Supporters. We have some new developments. The first thing I would like to report to you all is that we have received word from our mysterious savior. That is correct. We recently received a letter from the wizard who has been smuggling witches and wizards out of the country. He would like to inform us all that he has safely moved more then two hundred young witches and wizards to new homes.'_

'_Wonderful!' _Mooney cheered._ 'Absolutely brilliant.'_

'_Wait, stop!' _A female voice shouted in the background. _'We have urgent news!'_

'_What is it Sun?' _Mr. Weasley asked.

'_I have just returned from Diagon Alley with a copy of the Daily Prophet to see what the Death Eaters have reported as news. Look what is on the front page!'_

Lupin read aloud. _'Death Eaters announce the death of a traitor. What is this about?'_

'_Listen.' _Sun began to read. _'Death Eaters Lucius and Narcissa Malfoy announce the death of their traitorous son, Draco Malfoy. It is reported that young Draco Malfoy was hunted down and killed after is became known that he helped to aide Potter and his two friends, Ronald Weasley and Hermione Granger in their escape. The parents were reported as saying: "He is no son of ours. He betrayed us for a mublood, a halfblood, and a foolish blood-traitor." this is said to be an example of what will happen to any of Potters followers and any traitors to the Dark Lord.'_

there was a deafening silence and Harry and Ron turned to look at Hermione. She was deathly pale. Tears streamed down her face. "No. no, no, no! It can't be true! No!" Her hand went to the ring around her neck. "No, no, no, no…"

Ron moved beside her. His arms slipped around her and he pulled her close to him. "I'm sorry Hermione." She didn't fight him, just simply sank against him.

'_I don't think any of us saw this coming, Sun.' _Mr. Weasley said quietly.

'_I'm sure this comes as quite a shock to many of us.' _Mooney agreed. _'We're going to close early tonight. Next week's password will be Draco, to honor our fallen helper. Keep safe. Help each other. Pray for those people who fight for us. And pray also for those who have died for us. That's is. Goodnight.' The station died to static._

_Harry turned the radio off. Hermione's cries were the only sound in the room now. "It'll be okay Hermione." Ron whispered to her. "You still have us. And we aren't going anywhere. You'll get though this. I know you will. You're smart, and strong and brave."_

_She looked up at him, trying to fight back the tears. "Thank you Ron." Then she lay her head back on his shoulder._

_Hermione laid on her bed that night. Her hands were resting on her stomach. She could feel the smooth roundness to it. She had begun to notice the bump about a month ago. It wasn't noticeable to anyone else right now, but it would be soon. Very soon._

_She knew they had to attack soon. It not, Harry and Ron would notice the changes. They wouldn't let her fight. And she had to fight now. Now that they had killed Draco. Her Draco. They took him away from her, away from their child. She would kill them all._


	8. Chapter 8

**I apologize that the chapters are so short on here. I wrote the stories down in notebooks before i had decided to post them. Written, the chapters average about 3 to 4 pages. I didn't realize how little that would seem like on here. I have no intentions of changing the length of the chapters. I'm sorry, but bear with me please. It will be worth it in the end, I hope.**

They packed the next morning to move to a new location once again. They took hands and Hermione apparated them to their next spot. The darkness unfolded around them and they moved apart.

"Alright, lets get started." Hermione said. Before she could pull out her bag, however, a branch snapped behind them. Their wands were out and raised.

"Who's there?" Ron shouted into the trees surrounding them.

Silence.

"Who's there?" He called again.

Another branch snapped, this time to their left. "Ron, is that you?"

"Of course it's him." Luna Lovegood said, stepping out from behind a tree. "It's alright guys. I told you it was them."

Dean Thomas and Ginny Weasley stepped slowly into the clearing.

"Hello, Harry." Luna said. "It's wonderful to see you again." She turned and smiled. "You too Ron, Hermione."

"Ginny!" Harry turned to her. "What are you doing out here?"

Ginny ran to him and he caught her. "We came to find you." She said, hugging him tighter. "Neville found a way out of Hogwarts. He's still there, though. We thought you would probably want to get back in, you know, to fight. So Luna and I left. We were on our own for a while. It was difficult because of the whole underage magic thing. But we ran into Dean, here, and he's been protecting us."

"How did you find us though?" Hermione asked skeptically.

Dean shook his head. "We didn't. You found us. We've been apparating from one place to the next, hoping we would find some clue as to were you were." He explained, then turned to Hermione. "There is one think I can't understand. Hermione, you told us that we wouldn't be able to tell anyone about the D.A. unless they were wearing a necklace. But I was able to tell Fred everything."

Hermione nodded. "There wasn't a need for the silencing charm anymore. I took it off the night of the attack. They are still charmed and bound though."

"Well that explains why Fred knew everything." Harry remarked.

"Yeah. Now what do we do about them?" Ron asked

"What do you mean, 'What do we do about them?' Ronald?" Ginny exclaimed, whirling around to face him. "We are going to stay with you. We are going to fight."

"Oh, no you are not, Ginevra Weasley!" Ron warned. "Mom and dad will cut off my bloody head if I let you fight!"

"I don't bloody well care Ronald! It's too late for that anyhow. If I don't stay with you and I go out there and die, they'll cut off your bloody head anyhow!"

"She has a point, Ron." Harry put in. "Alright, you'll all stay with us."

Ron mumbled under his breath. Hermione pulled out her bag and got the tent out for him. She handed it to him. "Here Ron, set it up."

"Harry." Hermione said, turning to Harry, who was standing with Ginny, lips locked.

He looked up. "Huh?"

"The spells Harry." She said, waving her wand.

"Oh, right. The spells." His arms left Ginny and he grabbed his wand. "Sorry Hermione."

They put up the spells as Ron pitched the tent. Dean and Ginny stood talking. Luna watched Hermione as she performed each spell. When they finished, Ginny and the others followed them inside and the sat around the table. Ron took his place next to Hermione. Dean sat next to him with Ginny on his other side, close to Harry. That left Luna to sit between Harry and Hermione.

"We need to discuss sleeping arrangements." Hermione announced. "There are only three rooms."

"I'm sleeping in Harry's room." Ginny said and Harry agreed readily. "Shut it Ronald." She told her brother when he opened his mouth to object.

"I'll sleep in Hermione's room, if that's alright?" Luna said, turning to her.

She nodded. "Sure. So that leaves Dean to bunk with Ron then. You okay with that guys?"

The boys nodded in agreement.

"Great. Now that we've got that settled, can we eat? I'm starving." Ginny said.


	9. Chapter 9

"Hermione?" Luna said quietly, as they lay in their room that night.

"Yeah?"

"I was just wondering… How long have you been pregnant?"

Hermione sat up with a jolt. She turned to look at Luna questioningly. "How do you know that? Luna, I'm barely showing. Even to myself."

"Don't worry Hermione. I won't tell anyone. I know Ron and Harry don't know. I saw that earlier. By how they acted." She looked over at her. "So how long have you been pregnant?"

"About four months, I guess. I'm not completely sure, but it's around that."

"So then, it is Draco's baby? Did you tell him?" Luna asked quietly.

"Luna…" Hermione began, staring at her unblinkingly. "How… How do you know about me and Draco? We didn't tell anyone about us. Ron and Harry just found out themselves."

"I've always known, Mione. But you never told Draco about the baby, did you?" She asked again.

Hermione shook her head. "I couldn't. I didn't know about the baby until a few months ago. I never had the chance to tell him…" Her voice was laced with pain.

Luna was silent for a moment before she spoke. "Don't worry Hermione. Everything will be just fine. I know it will."

"Oh Luna! What am I going to do?" Hermione sobbed, tears running down her cheeks. "Everything is falling apart!"

"It's okay Hermione." She soothed, moving to sit on Hermione's bed. She wrapped her arms around the other girl and held her. "You have me here now. I know it's not much, but I'll help you. It will be our secret. I won't tell a soul." She smile. "And look at the bright side. Now you have someone to talk to about it."

"Yeah. I suppose you're right Luna." She agreed, smiling back at the blonde girl. "But remember, it's a secret. Not even Ginny can know. She'll tell Harry and he'll tell Ron."

"I know Hermione."

They sat quietly for a while. Luna rubbed Hermione's have absently as her head rested on Luna's shoulder. "Luna," Hermione said, quietly. "Don't you hate me for dating Draco?"

"Why would I hate you for that?" Luna asked seriously.

"Well, Ron and Harry were pretty mad about it. And all of our friends considered him an enemy."

Luna shook her head. "I never saw him that way. He wasn't a bad guy. Not really anyways." She smiled fondly. "I always thought it was rather funny to watch him try to be bad. For a long time, I think he really wanted to be bad. But he realized it wasn't who he was, I think."

Hermione stared at Luna. This young witch had figured Draco out better than Draco himself had. _How was that even possible?_

"_Well, I'm going to go to sleep now. Goodnight Hermione." She said smiling. She reached her hand out and let her fingertips gently brush Hermione's slightly rounded stomach. "Goodnight, little one." She whispered before going back to her own bed._


	10. Chapter 10

The next morning, they all sat around the table. "Okay," Harry began, "If you're going to fight with us, then you'll need to know the plan. Ginny, you already know about the secret passages into Hogwarts. We are planning to use one of those-"

"Harry," Ginny cut in. "The passages have all been sealed. Every one of them. You-Know-Who knew all about them and he ordered them all to be closed up."

"Bloody hell! There goes that plan!" Ron said. "Now what do you suppose we do?"

"Well, thanks to Neville, we do have a way in. A secret passage that the Death Eaters know nothing about." Ginny told them. "The only problem is getting to the passage."

"What do you mean?" Hermione asked.

"Well, the passage is inside the Three Broomsticks in Hogsmeade. But the problem is getting in." Ginny answered.

"How is that a problem?" Harry looked to Ginny.

Dean answered. "You-Know-Who has placed a curfew on Hogsmeade. Nobody's allowed in after dark. And it's not like we can just walk in there anyhow. I mean, they are looking for us. If they see us, we're as good as dead."

There was a moment of silence. "What about Polyjuice Potion?" Luna asked. "Hermione is great with potions. She could make it."

"We don't have all the ingredients. It could take months to gather them all. And we just don't have that kind of time." Harry explained.

"Actually, Harry," Hermione said, "I have most of the ingredients. We only need one or two more. We could find them in only about a week."

"But it takes a month to brew it Hermione." Harry argued.

She sighed. "We don't exactly have a choice Harry. There's no way to get in without it."

Murmurs of agreement came from the others. Harry sighed and nodded. "Fine. But who are we going to become?"

"Muggles" Dean responded immediately. "We can become muggles. Nobody will recognize us that way." He said, smiling at Hermione. "Right?"

"Actually, that's a brilliant idea. Death Eaters don't pay attention to muggles, so we could get by completely unnoticed." She agreed, grinning back. "Now that we have that settled, let's see if we can find out were we need to go for the last few ingredients. Then we can get started immediately."

It took nearly an hour to figure out what ingredients they needed to gather and where they could be found. It wouldn't be too difficult to get them. Hermione estimated that it would take about a week. The only two ingredients they needed were in virtually the same place.

They would then have an entire month to choose with muggles they would become. They would also need to find an extremely safe place to stay for that month since they wouldn't be able to move while the potion is brewing. That would be the most difficult. Hermione even suggested that they stay in the muggle world for the duration of the month.

"Are you crazy Hermione?" Ron asked. "How in the bloody hell do you imagine we could pull that off?"

"Ron, I'm a muggle-born." she told him.

"So am I." Dean added.

"And Harry was raised as a muggle as well. We know all about living as muggles. Plus I have some money in my bank account in the muggle world. I can get some of it when we find a town close by."

"We could have to show I.D. in order to get a place anywhere." Harry piped in.

"We could get fake IDs in the black market." Dean offered up, more to Hermione than anyone else.

"And we can change our hair color and eye color too. We'll have to do it the muggle way so that it won't come undone by any magic detection spells. Then we can rent an apartment and stay there. With fake names, we'll be perfectly safe."

"That sounds like a lot of work. How long will all this take?" Ginny asked.

"Well, I have some of my muggle money with me now. I suppose Dean and I could apparate to a nearby town and buy the dye and IDs."

"Why do you need him to go?" asked Ron, looking at the tall Gryffindor.

"Because he knows about the black market. And I'm sure he knows more about it than me, like where to find it." Hermoine explained.

"Sure. I know just where to go." Dean said, grinning at her. "I used to spend the summer getting into trouble with my friends back home."

"Great, that's settled then. When are you guys going to go then?" Harry asked.

"I think you should go now." Luna said. She hadn't said a word the entire time, but now she looked at Hermione.

"Luna's right. We should go now." She stood up. Dean stood as well.

"Alright, we'll be back soon guys. Be careful." She told them, smiling. She turned and led Dean out past the barriers of their camp. She reached out and took his hand. Closing her eyes, Hermione twisted her wand. Moments later, they were standing in a field alone.


	11. Chapter 11

Hermione looked around the deserted field and smile. She and Dean walked towards the road. She didn't seem to notice that Dean held her hand. Nor did she notice that he continued to look at her. "So do you think we should go to the bank in town?" Hermione asked him.

"Yeah." he replied. "But I think that we should go get the hair dye and contacts first."

She nodded. "Oh shoot!" she said, coming to a stop. "We should have brought Harry's glasses. It would have been better if he didn't have to wear his glasses."

"I'll go back and get them then. You just stay here. Then we can have some contacts made for him." Dean said.

Hermione shook her head. "That's alright. I'm sure we'll manage just fine without them. But we should get something to cover up his scar."

"Don't you have any of that cover up stuff that girls wear?"

"No. I've never had the need for it."

"Oh well we could get some and use that for his scar."

Hermione nodded and laughed. "Oh Harry will love that."

They made their way to town. There was a small convenience store. They bought two boxes of blonde dye, three boxes of brown dye and a box of black dye. Next they found the colored contacts they needed. Luckily, there for four pair in each box so they wouldn't have to buy a box for each week. They decided on two boxes of gray contacts, one of brown, two of blue and one of black.

"They may hate us for the colors we chose." Dean said as they picked up a package of cover up and went to check out.

"Oh well. They'll get over it. It had to be done. Besides I've always wondered what I would look like as a blonde." She said laughing.

Dean smiled as she continued. "Okay. So now all we need is the IDs and…" her voice trailed away. "Oh no. we can't get them now! We need everyone with us.. And we need to look like our photos will look."

"It's alright Hermione. We'll just go back and explain why we didn't get them yet. They'll understand." He said and took her hand. "Come on."

They walked back to the fiend quickly. Darkness swallowed them as they apparated back. They walked into the campsite. When they made their way inside the tent, the smell of freshly cooked food engulfed them. They walked to the kitchen and found Ginny and Luna setting out plates of food.

"Wow. That was pretty fast." Ginny remarked. "Guys, they're back."

Harry and Ron came into the kitchen and sat at the table. "So?" Harry inquired.

"Well, the good news is that we got the hair dye and contacts. The bad news is that we didn't get the IDs yet. We need everyone there and ready for the pictures." Hermione explained.

"But we did remember to get some cover up for Harry's scar." Dean said cheerfully, grinning at the look of horror on Harry's face. Hermione, Luna and Ginny all laughed.

"After we eat, we can dye our hair and put in our contacts." Hermione said. "Then we can all apparate back to town for our IDs."

They nodded in agreement as they sat down to dinner. Ginny and Luna had made hamburgers. They turned out to be pretty good. After all the dishes were washed and cleared away, they took their seats around the table again.

"So how do we do this?" Ron asked.

"Well, first of all, we need to explain who's getting what colors." Hermione said. "Harry and I will have blonde hair with gray eyes. Luna, Ron and Dean will have brown hair. Dean and Ron, you will have blue eyes. Luna, yours will be brown." She turned to Ginny. "You are going to be our outsider girl. You'll have black hair and black eyes. You okay with that?"

Ginny smiled and clapped as she jumped up and down. "Yay! Of course I'm okay with that. If I have to dye my hair, it may as well be to something fun. This is going to be great!"

"Okay then." Hermione said, laughing at Ginny's enthusiasm. "Now, I'm going to show you how this works okay? Ginny? Do you want to go first?" Ginny nodded eagerly. "Great, come here. Now this is going to take about an hour alright?" Ginny sat in a chair in front of the sink. Hermione washed her hair thoroughly. Dean, who had come to stand beside her at the sink, opened Ginny's box of hair dye. He took out the plastic gloves and handed them to Hermione. While she pulled on the gloves, Dean shook the bottle of dye and broke off the seal. Then he handed it to her as well.

Hermione took it and began to separate Ginny's hair. She poured a generous amount of dye into the first section. Dean held the undyed hair while Hermione worked the dye into the loose hair. Dean let down some of the hair in his hands and Hermione continued to add the dye. The repeated this until all of Ginny's hair was covered in dye.

Dean handed Hermione a hair tie and she pulled Ginny's hair into a quick bun piled on top of her head. "Now," she said to Ginny and the others. "You have to leave it like that for forty-five minutes. Then you can rinse it out."

"Luna, why don't you help me do Hermione's hair?" Dean asked Luna. "Then we can do yours. The guys will be easiest since there is less hair to dye." Luna nodded and walked over to stand beside Dean. "Good. I'll do the messy part this time. You just have to do what I did and prepare things." Luna nodded again, smiling.

While dean washed Hermione's hair, Luna opened a box of blond hair dye. She handed him the gloves . She grabbed the bottle and shook it well before breaking the seal and handing it to him. Luna held up Hermione's hair, just as Dean had done with Ginny's hair, while Dean applied the hair dye. When they were done, she handed him a tie and he secured Hermione's hair.

This pattern continues with Luna's hair. Ginny helped Hermione to dye her hair. Once they finished, they tied up Luna's hair and set out to work on the guys. Hair was cut when needed, since most of their hair had grown rather long during the months. They started with Dean, Ginny grabbed a box of brown dye and they set to work. After they finished Dean's hair, they spit into pairs. Dean and Ginny worked the blonde dye into Harry's hair. Hermione and Luna set about turning Ron's red hair brown.

Bye the time they had finished the applying the last bit of dye, it was time to rinse out Ginny's hair. It took a total of ten minutes to rinse out her hair. When she sat up, the room was filled with a variation of reactions. Harry and Ron gasped. Dean laughed. Hermione and Luna smiled.

"How's it look?" Ginny asked eagerly.

"Amazing!" Hermione exclaimed.

They set about rinsing out everyone's hair one by one. When they finished, they looked around at one another. Hermione and Harry were now blondes. Ron, Luna and Dean were now brunettes. Ginny stood alone with her black hair. Hermione then showed them each how to put in their contacts. There were a few failed attempts but after ten time minutes, they all had new eye colors.

"Okay. Are we all ready to get out ID?" Hermione asked.

They each nodded.

"I think we should go in groups. Dean and I will take two of you at a time. That way there will be two people here to guard the campsite at all times."

"So who goes first then?" Harry asked.

"Ron and Luna can go with us first. Then we'll come back for Harry and Ginny afterwards." Dean said, winking at Harry.

Harry grinned at Ginny. "I'm fine with that."

"Just remember to guard camp." Hermione said. "Alright then. Let's get going."


	12. Chapter 12

"What names do you want on the Ids?" asked the larger of two huge men.

Dean gave him for names. His id would say Thomas Miller. Ron would be his brother, adopted of course, Jacob Miller. Luna's name was to be Alice Edwards. And the last, Rose Emery, was for Hermione.

The man nodded. "It'll take about twenty minutes."

"That's fine." Dean told him, nodding in agreement. "We'll be back with two others to pick them up. We'll need two other ids made also. For the others who will be returning with us." He handed the man a ten pound note and spoke quietly. The man nodded.

"That was simple enough." Luna said as the walked back to the field.

"Of course it was. Muggles like things to be easy." Dean explained.

They apparated back to the tent and switched off. Harry and Ginny stood and followed Hermione and Dean.

Ten minutes later, they were standing in front of the two large men again. "These are the two for the other ids?" The smaller man asked.

"Yes." Dean answered. "His name will be Scott Emery." He said, jabbing his thumb towards Harry. "And the girl is Isabella James." He indicated Ginny. "How much for them all?"

"Top grade ids like these go for fifty pounds a pop around here. But since you're buying six of them, we'll knock off the price of one. It'll be two hundred and fifty pounds for the lot." Reasoned the bigger man.

"Alright. Can we pick them all up at the same time?" Dean asked him. The man agreed. "Okay, we'll be back then."

They left the men and headed for the field. They went back to the campsite. "Ron, Luna." Hermione called out. "Hey, we're going to pack up camp now. That way we can pick up our ids and go to the bank. Then we can take off from there."

The finished packing in twenty minutes. With the tent packed away and the last of the spells undone, they were ready to go. Ten minutes later, they were back in town. The group went to collect their Ids. Dean examined them closely then handed them to Hermione. She looked them over and smiled.

She nodded to Dean. "They're perfect. Just what we'll need."

He smiled and pulled out his wallet. He removed two hundred and fifty pounds and handed it to the bigger man. "Thank you, gentlemen." He turned to Hermione and whispered something in her ear. They spoke quietly for a few moments. Finally, Dean took the two men aside. He spoke with them for a few minutes. Suddenly, he opened his wallet again. Dean handed them each a twenty pound note before shaking their hands and grinning. Then he turned and walked back.

He nodded to Hermione. "All settled."

"Great." She said. "Now all that's left is to go to the bank. Then we can leave."

They found the bank quickly. Dean withdrew his money first. He had nearly three thousand pounds. Hermione had nearly seven thousand. She withdrew it all, storing it in her bag.

"Hermione, how on earth did you get all that?" Harry asked.

She looked at him puzzled. "Oh. Well, I was busy this summer. I worked three jobs and saved almost everything I made."

"Three jobs?" He said, rather shocked.

"Yeah. I worked part time as a library assistant, part time as a maid, and I was a full time waitress. Most of it came from witnessing. The tips were always good."

"Wow. No kidding?" Dean said. "That's pretty cool."

"Yeah. Are we ready to go now?" She asked. They nodded and walked back to the field.


	13. Chapter 13

**This was originally 2 chapters but i combined them since they flowed together well enough. i hope you guys appriciate the slightly longer chapter. **

It took them five days to gather both of the missing ingredients. They sat around the table that night, whispering as Ron tuned in the radio.

'_Hey Potter Followers. This is Potter Watch, as many of you already know. Next week will be the three month anniversary of the attack at Hogwarts.'_ Eagle Eye said._ 'After last week's breaking news, we hope to make this week's show a little better.'_

'_That's right, Eagle Eye.' _Said a familiar, yet unknown voice. _'Hey there, the name's Scarlet by the way. This is my first time on the show.'_

'_Sorry Scarlet. I forgot that the don't know you. I see you all the time, it's easy to forget. But now that we have that out of the way, what's next? Ah yes, we are happy to report that we have received another letter from our mystery wizard smuggler. He is reporting that, due to the increase in witches and wizards wanting to leave the country, he has taken on the help of two others. Together these three people have managed to move nearly one thousand witches and wizards in the two and a half months since the war began.'_

'_That's a mighty impressive number.' _Scarlett said.

'_Yes, indeed it is. Also, he would like us to inform you, the listeners, that he will begin to aide elderly witches and wizards who wish to leave the country beginning next week. He sent us a letter that he would like us to share with you all.'_

'_To all who seek freedom.'_ Scarlet read. _'I would like to say just a few words about what I am doing. First of all, I would like to inform you all that this is not a recently formed business. I have been doing this for well over a year. It has only recently become known due to the outbreak of war. There is a reason why I have started this business and I would like to share it with you all in hopes that it will teach you a lesson. I began this business because I have done things in my past which I am not proud of. Terrible things that I regret every day. But the reason I continue on during these hard times is for a much simpler reason. I could easily have taken my money and hid away in safety. But that would have been cowardly, and that is something I am not. I chose to stay and aide you in this war for a reason as old as time. For love. When this is all over, I hope to find my love again, though I know it's not likely. I pray she will come to me, in hopes of leaving the country. So until then, I am here to stay. To save the loved ones of those who will be out there, fighting in hopes that we will all be free again.' _Scarlet's voice faded as the letter ended.

'_So now we have it. An explanation at last. Love. Our mystery hero fights in the name of love along side us all. Our hearts go out to you, mystery wizard.' _Eagle Eye said. _'We all have those loved ones out there. Be they family or lovers. We pray you are safe, no matter where you may be.'_

'_Well said. There has been no change reported at Hogwarts as of yet. Snape is still in charge and his Death Eater friends are still running the place. We can only hop that something will be done soon. That's it for this week though. Next week's password is Love. Until then, keep safe and help each other while you can.'_ Their voices died away after the last line. Static filled the air.

The six friends sat around the table. Eyes moved from one person to the next.

Finally, Luna spoke. "Um… I have a question. Why is it that we need Polyjuice Potion? I mean, we don't exactly look like ourselves."

"Hair dye isn't permanate. It will come out in time." Hermione said. "And besides that, our bodies are still the same. We can still be recognized."

"Oh, right." Luna said.

"Now all we need to do is find a place to stay for a month." said Hermione.

Dean laid a paper down in front of her. "Already done Hermione. It's a bit more than an apartment but I think it might be better this way since there are six of us. Look here." He pointed to the paper. "It's a house. It has five bedrooms. Three upstairs and two downstairs. Plus there are two full bathrooms and a half bathroom. There's a living room, kitchen, dining room, and a den. Plus the year is fenced in. it's perfect."

"It is perfect." Hermione beamed. "How much though?"

"A thousand a month if we pay in cash. Plus all the utilities will be taken care of. That way there's nothing to leave a trail with. No papers, no nothing."

"That's brilliant!" Harry exclaimed.

"It's more than that. It's absolutely perfect." Said Hermione. "When can we go to see it?"

"First thing tomorrow morning. Is that okay?"

"Of course! I can't wait!"

"Great." He smiled.

"Yeah great." Ron said. "Now can we get to bed? We've got things to do tomorrow."

"Right. Well, goodnight then." Hermione said. They rose one by one and drifted off to bed.

The wind blew her now-blonde hair across her face. Hermione sat on a blanket, looking up at the night sky. It was nearly one in the morning and she couldn't sleep. Finally, she had just decided to grab a blanket and sit outside. It was a nice night.

Her hand moved absently to her stomach. She caressed the bump, knowing that soon she would be holding this child. Her last piece of Draco. She would do her best to protect it. She had to. Hermione looked up at the stars, her mind wandering off. _What would it be? What would she name it? She had plenty of time to think about that. She smiled. Maybe she could even make an appointment with a baby doctor while they were staying in the house. She found find out just how far along she was._

_She could even find out if she was having a boy or a girl. Luna could help her pick out names then. She could even ask Luna to be the godmother, Hermione decided. She couldn't wait to tell her!_

_Hermione jumped suddenly when she felt a hand on her shoulder. She looked to see Dean's hand resting there. She looked up at him and smiled. "Hey."_

"_Hey." He smiled back. "Mind if I join you?" When she nodded to him, he sat down beside her. "Couldn't sleep?" He asked._

"_No. Not at all." She answered, looking back up to the sky. "What about you?"_

"_Same thing. Couldn't sleep." He sighed. "Things are changing." He remarked, laying back._

"_Yeah, they sure are. But we'll win."_

"_What makes you so sure?" He asked as he pushed himself up on his elbows._

"_Well, we're the good guys Dean. We're fighting for all the right things." She looked at him. "When I was little, my mom used to read me all those stories about magic an trolls and brave knights who ride in on stallions to slay the dragon and save their princess. Then they ride off and live happily ever after. But I used to argue that there was no way a little human knight could slay a big fire-breathing dragon with just a sword. Now, seeing that magic and dragons and trolls are all real, well it makes me believe that maybe the happy ever after is too."_

"_Do you really believe all that Hermione?" Dean asked her._

"_I have to Dean. It's all I have left now." She sighed. _

"_That's not true." He said and took her hand. "You have all of us. You have me." He gently touched her face with his other hand._

"_Dean…" She said breathlessly._

"_I'm only asking you to give me a chance Hermione." he said quietly. "I'm not asking you to spend the rest of your life with me. I'm just asking for a chance."_

_Hermione placed her hand over his and lowered it slowly. "Dean, I can't. It's not fair to you or to me. I like you. You're a great person. But my heart belongs to someone else. It always will."_

"_He can't care for you like I can Hermione. Ron's a great guy but he'll never understand you like I can."_

"_It isn't Ron, Dean." Hermione said quietly._

"_But who then?" His eyes grew wide. "Harry?"_

_She shook her head. "No. Not Harry either. It… It's Draco."_

_He stared at her. "Draco?" She nodded. "Draco Malfoy?" She nodded again. "It's true then, isn't it? They killed him because he helped you escape."_

"_Yes." Hermione choked back a sob. "I… I fell. I thought I was going to die. But then the Death Eater chasing me fell. Draco attacked him. He picked me up and ran with me to safety. He put me down and fixed my ankle for me. He escaped. Then we did. But they found him. And it's all my fault! I only stunned the Death Eater that was chasing us. If I had killed him then they would have never known that it was Draco who helped us." She was now crying uncontrollably._

"_I'm sorry Hermione. I had no idea." He told her, pulling her close and holding her._


	14. Chapter 14

"Luna, I forgot to tell you something." Hermione said while they were sitting in her room. They had been living in the house for two weeks already.

"What is it Hermione?" Luna asked in her singsong voice.

"Well… I made a decision." she looked at the door. She wished she could use magic but they weren't supposed to. Not while they were here. She moved closer to Luna instead. "I decided that when the baby is born…" She paused.

"What about when the baby is born?" Luna asked, now giving Hermione her full attention.

"Well, I was wondering if maybe you would be the godmother?" She finished.

Luna looked shocked. Then she smiled hugely. "Oh that would be wonderful! Do you mean it Hermione? Would you really make me the godmother?"

Hermione grinned. "You'll do it then?"

"Of course Hermione!" Luna hugged her. "Oh thank you!"

Hermione beamed at her. "There's one more thing I wanted to ask you Luna. I was wondering if you might come to my appointment with me."

"What kind of appointment is it Hermione?"

"It's for the baby. The doctor will tell me how long it will be until the baby I born. He might even be able to tell us if it's a girl or a boy. I think I'm about six months now. My stomach is getting pretty big." She pulled up her baggy shirt to show her. Luna touched her rounding belly softly.

"Wow. Does it hurt to have your belly all stretched out like that?"

"Nah. But he does like to kick sometimes." She said smiling, as she ran her own fingers over her belly.

"Hermione? Do you want to know if you're having a boy or a girl?" Luna asked.

Hermione sighed. "I don't know. I think I'd rather be surprised." She looked over at her bedside table. "Oh, we have to get going. My appointment is in half an hour."

They were out the door in five minutes. Twenty minutes later, they walked into the doctor's office.

"Ah. You must be Rose Emery. Right, I'm Dr. Castlerow. So you're here for a check up on your baby. It says here that you aren't quite sure how far along you are. Well, we'll just fix that then."

Half an hour later, Dr. Castlerow came back into the room with a smile. "Well, Ms. Emery. According to my papers here, you're about six months. You're due around September twenty-third. You should be okay with normal activities for about another month. It's the last two months you really want to watch out for. Women as young and small as you tend to have difficulties during the eighth and ninth months."

"What kind of difficulties?" Luna asked worriedly.

"Who are you?" The doctor asked her.

"Oh. My name is Alice Edwards." she stood and offered her hand to him. "I'm Rose's sister."

"And why do you not share the same last name as Ms. Emery?"

"Ah we get that all the time. We son't like this getting around too much, but you see doctor, Rose and I only have the same father. We didn't know each other until a few years ago. But Rose's brother, Scott, he doesn't like me too much. So we don't spread things around unless we need to. I have my mother's last name."

"Right, well, okay then."

"So, complications then doctor?"

"Oh yes. When young mothers overwork themselves too much, it can cause the baby to come early due to stress on the body. If the baby comes too soon, there can me major complications which may result in the loss of your baby."

"Right. Well, I'll make sure she doesn't overdue it then. Thank you doctor." She stood and offered Hermione her hand.

They made their way back to the house, laughing.


	15. Chapter 15

"Harry." Hermione said. "We need to choose the muggles we are going to become. The Polyjuice Potion will be ready in two days."

"Great!" He jumped to his feet. "This will be a piece of cake. We've already done this before."

Luna, Dean and Ginny turned to stare at them, "Harry…" Ginny said. "What do you mean you've done this before?"

Harry looked to Hermione. "It's alright Harry. You can tell them. I mean, it was five years ago. It hardly makes a difference now."

"Well, okay then." Dean and Luna sat in the two chairs next to the couch while Ginny sat beside Harry. "Well, you remember what happened five years ago at Hogwarts, right?"

"Yeah." Ginny shuddered. "That's when I was taken into the Chamber of Secrets."

"Exactly." Harry continued. "During that year, Ron, Hermione and I went to look for the heir of Slytherin. When we were trying to discover who the heir was, we made a Polyjuice potion. Well, Hermione made it. Ron and I tricked Crabbe and Goyle and got some of their hair. Hermione was supposed to be Millicent but she got cat fur instead. Animals and Polyjuice potion don't mix. Anyhow, after we finished nearly choking to dead on that foul stuff, we snuck off to the Slytherin common room. We tried to get…" His voice trailed off. He looked up at Hermione. She knew what was coming. She nodded. He bowed his head. "We tried to get Draco Malfoy to tell us who the heir was. But he didn't know."

Ginny, being the only one of the six who didn't know about Hermione's relationship with Draco, was the first to speak. "That's so cool Harry!" She said, turning to face him. "Why didn't you ever tell me?"

Harry didn't answer. His eyes were on Hermione as she walked briskly from the room. Ginny followed the path of Harry's eyes and noticed quickly that everyone else was also watching Hermione's exit. Once she was gone, Harry's eyes closed. His head fell forward and hung there. Ginny looked around at the others. They shared a look of mournfulness., as if someone had died.

"Harry… What's going on?" She asked.

He looked up. "Ginny…" Harry took her hand. "Look, I'm not sure how Luna and Dean found out, but from the looks on their faces, they know already. Gin… Hermione and Draco were dating. She loved him…"

"She still does." Dean said. Luna nodded in agreement.

"Wait. When? How?" she asked.

"They started dating during the first week of school. Hermione said they broke up on Christmas. But it seemed that he still loved her. He saved her life when we were escaping from Hogwarts. Yes, he really did help us escape. That's why he was tracked down. That's why they killed him. To set an example for everyone else." Harry told her.

"Oh! Poor Hermione! That's so horrible!" Ginny said, becoming upset.

Hermione was laying on her bed when someone knocked on her door. "Come in." She called. The door opened and Harry walked in.

"Oh. Hi Harry. I thought you would be Luna."

"Hermione. We need to talk." She sat up. Her eyes followed him as he sat down on the bed. "Hermione, I know."

Her heart skipped a beat then began to race. "Know what Harry?"

"Please Hermione. Don't make me say it." But she only stared at him. "Fine." He sighed. "Hermione, in the four months that we have been on the run, Ron and I look exactly the same. But not you. You've gotten bigger. Well, your stomach has anyhow. You're pregnant Hermione. I know you are. I don't think that Ron or the others know, but I do. Hermione, I can't let you fight like this."

"Luna knows…" She said quietly, looking away.

"Hermione. Look at me." She didn't. "Hermione." Still, she didn't move. Harry moved closer to her. His hand was under her chin, tilting her face up. "Hermione, you can't do this. You've got to be, what, nearly seven months now? It's too dangerous for you to fight!"

"I'm a week short of seven months." Hermione told him. "And I will fight Harry. I have to. They killed him!"

"You can't Hermione. If you don't agree not to fight, I'll get the others. We'll make you stay here."

"Harry, you can't!" she cried.

"Hermione." Harry pleaded. "Think about the baby. Think about Draco." Hermione looked at him. "Hermione, Draco wouldn't want you to fight. Not like this. You may survive, but it's more than likely that your baby will die if you fight. Is losing the last part of Draco you have worth killing a few Death Eaters?"

She was quiet. She knew the answer. She knew Harry was right. "Harry… I have to go. I have to be there."

He took her hand. "I know you want to be there. But it's just too dangerous."

"Please Harry. I won't go outside. I'll stay in to Room of Requirements."

He sighed. "You'll be there even if I say no, won't you?"

"You know I will, Harry."

He shook his head. "Then promise me that you'll stay away from the battle."

She threw her arms around him. "I will. I promise! Oh, thank you Harry!"

"Alright guys." Hermione came into the room. "It'll be ready by tomorrow night. Did everyone get their hairs?"

Everyone nodded. "Dean. Ginny." Harry said. "I was talking to Hermione last night and we were wondering about something. Do you guys know how to get in touch with Fred and George and whoever else is with _Potter Watch_?"

"Yeah. All you have to do is mail them a letter using muggle mail." Dean said.

"Why?" Ginny asked.

"We want to send them a message to tell everyone that we are going to Hogwarts." Harry explained.

"That's brilliant!" Ron said, coming closer.

"So you can send our letter then?" Hermione asked Dean.

He nodded. Harry went to get the parchment and quill. Half an hour later, Dean mailed out the letter. "They'll have it before the show tomorrow." He informed them.

'_Hey everyone! This is Potter Watch. Or should I say Potter Found! That's right people.'_ Fred announced. _'We've found him at last. Well actually, he found us._

'_Indeed he has!'_ Said Lupin. _'We received a letter just this morning. This is it people. It's time to fight. Harry says that he, Ron and Hermione have met up with Dean Thomas, Luna Lovegood, and our very own Ginevra Weasley. They will be arriving at Hogwarts tomorrow night for the fight.'_

'_That's right. So all fighters should be at Hogwarts tomorrow to aide Harry in the fight to end the war. We will see victory shortly! Let us fight! This has been Potter Watch. We're signing off for the last time. See you tomorrow in person. It's been an honor. Goodnight and good luck!'_

_The station changed to static. They looked around at one another and smiled. This was it._


	16. Chapter 16

Hermione poured the Polyjuice potion into six vials. Harry handed one to each of the others as Hermione filled them. She turned to face the others when she had filled the last one.

"Is everybody ready? Alright, add the hair." They each dropped their hairs into their vials. The potion changed colors as it began to bubble. After a moment, it settled. "Good. Okay. Now remember, this only lasts for two hours. So we have to be inside the Three Broomsticks by then. Now, drink."

They drank down their potions.

"Gah! That's horrible!" Dean choked out as he clutched the arm of the chair.

Hermione leaned her head back against the window as she remembered the ghastly taste.

Harry and Ron clutched at their stomachs, doubled over. Ginny ran to the kitchen sink, positive that she would throw up. Luna stood, watching the others reactions.

Moments later, they were all transformed into six unknown muggles.

"Alright guys. Let's go." Hermione said as she quickly cleaned out her cauldron and put it away.

They apparated from the inside of the house. Because of the Death Eaters, they couldn't apparate into Hogsmeade. Instead the landed fifteen minutes away. It was a quick walk. They paired up and began their walk into the Three Broomsticks. Hermione went with Harry. Dean walked with Ginny. Luna paired up with Ron. An hour later, the were inside and together again.

Dean and Ginny went to talk to the owner. The explained who they were quietly. When they came back, they were smiling.

"He believes us. Come on." Dean said and led them to the back.

"Now, let's just hope that Neville still has the passage open." Ginny said.

They walked to the portrait of a young girl. Dean pulled the side of the portrait and it swung forward. A long tunnel was in front of them.

"That's it. Let's go." Luna said.

They made their way through the passage quickly. It took five minutes to get to the other side of the tunnel. They came out in a large room. Neville jumped when he saw them.

"Who are you?" He asked, wand raised.

"Relax Neville. It's us." Harry said. "I'm Harry. Sorry about the scare mate. But we had to use Polyjuice potion to get in."

Neville relaxed. His wand lowered. "I thought you guys would never show up."

"No. it just took some time." Harry told him. But listen Neville. We need to get into the Room of Requirements the other way. You know, when it's full of junk."

"Why?" "We're looking for something in there."

They convinced him to leave. They all went into the hall. Ron and Dean kept watch as Harry opened the Room again. Once the door was opened, they all snuck back in.

Harry described what they were looking for. It was Luna who found it twenty minutes later.

"Great! Now we need something to destroy it with." Harry said.

"Yeah. If only we had the Sword of Gryffindor again." Ron said.

"Actually," Neville said. He pulled the sword out from behind his back. "I found it when the Death Eaters were after me. It just sort of showed up."

"Brilliant! Okay Neville, we need you to cut the diadem." Harry said.

Neville nodded and raised the sword above his head. He brought it down in a single swift motion. The diadem seemed to shriek as Neville sliced threw it. A great black cloud rose up. As the last echo of the piercing shriek died away, the black cloud disappeared with it.

Ginny looked down to see her hands slowly changing back into her own. "Guys, what's happening?"

They looked at her them at themselves. "Don't worry Gin." Harry said. "The potion is just wearing off that's all."

They watched as the returned to themselves. "Hey what happened to our hair? It's back to it's normal color." Dean remarked.

"It must have been the Polyjuice potion." Hermione said. "It's returning us to ourselves." She explained as she ran her fingers threw her long brown hair.

"What do we do now?" Ron asked.

They turned to Harry. "That's starting to get annoying you know." He sighed. "We need to go through Hogwarts. How many teachers are Death Eaters now?"

"Only two. The Potions teacher and the Dark Arts teacher. Then there's Snape too." Neville answered.

"Good. We'll go in pairs. We need to take them out."

"There are seven of us now Harry."

He looked to Hermione. "No," She said. "I'm staying here. I'm going to help everyone who shows up threw the passage get into Hogwarts. It's up to you guys to do the rest."

They stared at her. Nobody spoke, nobody asked why. They split into pairs.

"Alright. Let's go." Harry said. They all left the Room of Requirements. Harry and Ginny waited until Hermione was back inside before the left.


	17. Chapter 17

_**This is it! Are you guys ready? The fight's about to begin! I hope you enjoy reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it.**_

_**Hermione sat in the large room. The portrait door swung open. Her wand was out. She watched as Fred, George, Lee Jordan, Angelina Johnson and Tonks came through.**_

"_**Hey Hermione!" Fred and George said together.**_

"_**Oh, Fred, George!" She gave them all hugs. "It's so great to see you guys again. Harry, Ron and the others have already gone to take care of the Death Eaters."**_

"_**They started without us?" George exclaimed.**_

"_**They want all the fun for themselves!" Fred added.**_

"_**Where's everyone else?" Hermione asked them.**_

_**It was Tonks who answered. "The Order's on their way. They should be along any minute."**_

"_**Great!" Hermione exclaimed.**_

"_**Yes, well, we'd better go rally the school. Don't want to let the kids have all the fun now do we?" Fred and George said.**_

_**They were out the door moments later.**_

_**Hermione spent the next half hour showing people inside. The last to arrive was a group of young wizards.**_

"_**The guy who owns the inn said to tell you that's the last of us." Said a tall black wizard. He followed his friends out.**_

_**Hermione closed the portrait and sat down in a chair. She looked around the room, wishing there was some way that she could know what was going on. She closed her eyes against the silence.**_

_**The sudden bombardment of shouts and explosions made her jump. She opened her eyes and saw that the room had given her a window. She jumped out of her chair and ran to it. She looked out the window and down onto the raging battle.**_

_**Her eyes ran over the field. She stopped as she saw Neville swing the blade of the Sword of Gryffindor. He brought it down and, in a clear slice, severed the head of Nagini. The snake's head fell to the ground. Her eyes caught the movement and she saw a Death Eater take aim at him.**_

_**She raised her own wand and pointed it at the Death Eater. "Expelliarmus" She said. Hermione watched as her spell hit him dead on and his wand flew out of his hand.**_

_**She searched the crowd again for the others. She sent spells and curses at Death Eaters and beasts who were fighting against them. Hermione watched from the window, searching vigilantly for her friends. That's when she saw Bellatrix Lestange. She was taking aim at Ginny.**_

_**As Hermione raised her wand, she heard a shout from Mrs. Weasley. "Get away from my daughter, YOU BITCH!" Bellatrix laughed. Then she stopped. A blast of green light had shot out from Molly's wand and hit Bellatrix in the center of her chest. She fell to the ground. Ginny ran to her mother.**_

_**She watched them embrace quietly before they were forced to separate and return to the battle. Hermione saw Dean and Luna. They were fighting a troll. There were flashes of green lights, flashes of red. Spells and curses flew in every direction.**_

_**Hermione caught sight of long silver hair. She looked down to see Lucius and Narcissa Malfoy shooting the Killing Curse at Hogwarts students. Rage burned inside her. She raised her wand, pointing it at Lucius.**_

"_**AVEDA KADAVRA!" she shouted.**_

_**Lucius Malfoy fell to the ground. Narcissa turned when her husband collapsed. She was hit from three sides with the Killing Curse.**_

_**Hermione sank to the floor. She sat with her back against the wall. Her hands were on her stomach. She rubbed the swelled bump. Her baggy shirts barely hid it now. But she didn't have to hide it now. Not anymore. **_

_**She realized that the sounds outside had diminished. She pulled herself up.**_

_**Harry and Voldemort were circling each other, wands raised. She watched in silence. In a sudden, swift movement, they attacked.**_

"_**Aveda Kadavra!" Voldemort shouted, a streak of green light shooting from his wand.**_

"_**Expelliarmus!" Harry countered. A streak of red bursting from his own wand to clash with the green light.**_

_**They struggled for power.**_

_**Hermione ran from the room. This was it. She ran down the stairs, stumbling over debris. When Hermione reached the bottom of the steps, she froze. She looked down at the ground where Voldemort lay dead. Cheers erupted around them.**_

"_**Harry, you did it!" She shouted. He turned as she ran down the front steps. Hermione ran into his arms and he hugged her.**_

"_**We did it Hermione." He told her. Then louder, to everyone. "We all did it!"**_

_**The cheers grew louder.**_


	18. Chapter 18

Harry and Hermione sat in the Great Hall with the Weasleys. They mourned for the loss of Fred and all their friends.

"Hermione?" Ginny said suddenly.

Hermione looked up

"Why didn't you come down to fight when everyone else had arrived?"

Hermione looked at Harry.

"You may as well tell them Hermione. You can't hide it much longer." He said, shrugging his shoulders.

All of the Weasleys turned to look at Hermione. She nodded. "Alright. I didn't come down because I promised Harry that I wouldn't leave the Room of Requirements if he let me come."

"Don't be ridiculous Hermione." Ron said. "Why wouldn't Harry let you come?"

She took a deep breath. "Because I… I'm pregnant." she told them.

There was a sharp intake of breathe. "Are you really?" Asked a voice from behind her.

Hermione whipped around. _It was him!_ "Draco!" She threw herself into his arms. He caught her and his arms closed around her.

He rested his head on hers and closed his eyes. The hall had gone absolutely quiet. Everyone turned to see that was going on. They stared at Draco who was supposed to be dead. The older Weasleys gasped. Ron and Harry stood in shock.

"Draco…" Hermione whispered. "You're here."

"Yes, love. I'm here." He said stroking her hair.

"But how? They said you were dead." Her voice trembled.

"It was a lie." Draco explained. "When I heard it, I almost wrote to say that I wasn't dead. But I figured that if everyone thought it was true, I wouldn't be caught."

"Then where the bloody hell have you been all this time, Malfoy?" Ron asked.

"Ask them." He said, indicating Mr. Weasley and George.

"Us?" They said together. "The only people we've been in touch with lately is…" Mr. Weasley's voice trailed off.

He looked at George. "No. No way. You're the wizard who's been moving witches and wizards out of the country?"

Draco nodded.

Hermione looked up at him. She reached up and ran her fingers across his cheek. Then she stood on her toes and kissed him. When she pulled back, there was so much love in his eyes that she stared to cry.

He pulled her closer, his arms tightening around her. "It's alright, love."

"I thought you were dead Draco." She cried. "I was going to fight but… but Harry wouldn't let me. He said the baby would get hurt." Hermione sobbed, clutching at his shirt.

Draco looked up. His eyes met Harry's eyes. Thank you Pott… Harry."

Harry nodded. "Just be good to her Draco." Harry looked at Hermione. "She really cares about you." Then he looked up and smirked. "Though I can't imagine why." He laughed.

Draco grinned back at him. He hugged Hermione to him and kissed her hair. "I love you Hermione."

Hermione smiled. "Draco…" She pulled away. Her hand reached for the chain at her neck. She pulled it off and held it up. He looked at it. _His ring. Draco looked up at her. Hermione lowered it to his hand._

_He had the ring off in seconds, turning it between his fingers. Draco smiled as he reread the inscription inside. He reached for her hand. Draco slid the ring onto her finger. His eyes moved from her hand to her eyes._

_His hands cupped her face and he kissed her. She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him back._

_Cheers and clapping filled the Great Hall. Draco pulled back and looked around. Everyone was watching them, clapping wildly. He smiled to himself._

_Hermione removed her arms from around his neck. Luna ran towards them. She and Hermione hugged._

"_Oh Hermione! I'm so happy for you. I told you everything would be okay, didn't I?" Luna turned to Draco. "Hello Draco." She smiled and threw her arms around him. "It's so good to see you again."_

_Draco was too stunned to do anything more than smile back._

_They were swamped by everyone in the Hall. People offered congratulations. Others wanted to shake hands. Some even gave hugs. Mrs. Weasley hugged Hermione to her chest. "Oh Hermione. I'm so happy for you."_

_She grabbed Draco next and hugged him tight. "Welcome to the family Draco. Hermione's like another daughter to me. Now you'll be like a son."_

_Fred and Bill grabbed Draco while the other Weasleys gathered around. "That's right Draco. Hermione, here, is like a sister to us. Not you treat her right, you hear?" Bill said._

"_Yeah, or me and my brothers are going to have to rough you up a bit." Fred added for good measure._

_Laughter filled the Great Hall._


	19. Chapter 19

Hermione walked down the aisle in a long silver satin dress two months later. Everyone stood to watch her. Hermione's eyes were on Draco. He stood at the end of the aisle. Harry and Ron were beside him. Luna, her maid of honor, was beside Ginny.

She handed her bouquet to Luna and turned to face Draco.

Twenty minutes later, Draco slid her wedding hand on her finger and kissed her. They walked down the aisle together as Mr. and Mrs. Draco Malfoy.

"Draco." Hermione said at the reception.

He turned to look at her. "Yes, love?"

"I know this probably isn't the best timing," She began, "But I think the baby's coming."

His champagne glass fell from his hand. It shattered on the floor. "Now?"

She nodded. "Think you can get us to St. Mungo's?"

He nodded. "Yes, of course. Come on." He took her hand and started to pull her towards the door.

"Draco. Draco stop." He did and turned to face her. "You're a wizard, remember? We can just apparate."

"Oh. Right."

"The guests, Draco." She reminded him.

Draco looked around. "Hey listen up!" He shouted. Everyone was quiet. "We're going to go have a baby now. Right, that should do it. Have fun." Hermione was laughing as took her hand and apparated away.

It was three in the morning when Hermione gave birth to a little boy. She lay on the bed exhausted, when Draco came over with a little blue bundle.

"He's perfect Hermione." Draco said, placing the baby in her arms.

Hermione looked down to see her baby. He had platinum blonde hair and brown eyes. "You're right. He is perfect. What should we name him?" She asked looking up at him.

Draco thought about it for a moment. "What about Scorpius Frederic Malfoy?"

Hermione looked into his eyes. "Draco… do you mean it?" She asked with tears in her eyes.

He nodded as he smiled down and his wife and son.


	20. Chapter 20

**Epilogue - Thirteen Years Later**

"Wait up!" Jessie called after her brother. Scorpius stopped and turned around.

"Come on! You guys are so slow!" He called. "I want to find them already!"

"Relax Scorpius." Draco called to his son. He shifted as his five year old daughter, Alexandria, who was on his back, tried to grab her twin brother's hair. "Alexa, stop trying to pull Alexander's hair." He told her.

Alex moved closer to his mother's side. Hermione laughed. She swung Alex up into her arms. "Come on. I'll protect you."

"Hey guys. I see you've still got your hands full." Harry called.

They stopped and saw Harry walking towards them. He had Lily's hand in one hand and Ginny's in the other. James and Albus were pushing their trolleys behind them.

"Hey. Where's Ron and Luna?" Hermione asked.

"Oh they're coming. You know how Ron is when he's trying to drive a muggle car." Ginny said, laughing.

"Oh no." Draco said.

Scorpius and Jessie made their way back to their parents.

"Hi James." Jessie smiled at him.

"Hey, Jess. Ready to go to Hogwarts?" he asked.

"Yeah! I'm so excited. I can't wait to see what house I get put in." She smiled. "Is it as great has Scorpius says it is?"

"Yeah. It's really cool." He told her.

"I'm going to put my trunk on the train." Scorpius said. He hugged his dad and kissed his mom on the cheek. He ruffled the twins' hair before pushing his trolley away.

"Hey." Ron said, coming up behind them. He was holding Hugo's left hand and Luna's right hand. Rosie was pushing her trolley. She stopped it next to Albus.

"Where's Scorpius?" Luna asked, looking around.

"You're godson's already loading his trunk onto the train." Hermione told her, smiling.

"Sounds like a good idea. Why don't you four go load up your trunks too." Ginny told the older kids.

Jessie and James pushed their trolleys towards the train. Albus and Rosie were right behind them.

"So how have you guys been?" Draco asked Harry and Ron.

"Same as always. Auror business is pretty slow now that we caught the last of the Death Eaters." Harry told him.

"Yeah," Ron agreed. "How's business?"

"Pretty entertaining actually. Who knew I'd be good at muggle jobs?" Draco laughed.

"I knew it." Hermione said matter-of-factly. She smiled and kissed Draco's cheek. Alexa made a grab for Alex's hair. "Oh no, you don't" Hermione said.

Everyone laughed.

"Well," Ron said. "It looks like we know who's going to be the Slytherin of the bunch!"

Alexa huffed indignantly and looked at him. "No I won't!" She pouted. "Mommy, tell Uncle Ron that I won't be a Slytherin!"

Hermione looked daughter. "Alexa, not all Slytherins are bad." She turned and looked Draco in the eye. "After all, mine turned out pretty good." And she kissed him.


End file.
